With the end of the war, in
1946 and 1947 about 600 DEs, APDs and other ships were berthed
at Green Cove Springs, FL, in what was known as the US Naval
Atlantic Reserve or " Mothball Fleet". But, there is
little written or documented about this historic event.
The two ships on which I served were sent here in 1946 to wait
patiently in case they were again needed to serve our country.

Green Cove Springs is a city
in Clay County, FL, and is the county seat. The city is named
after the portion of the St. Johns River upon which the city is
built.

In September 1940, the U.S. Navy opened Naval Air Station Lee
Field in honor of Ensign Bejamin Lee who had lost his life in a
crash at Killinghome, England during World War I. In
August 1943, the facility was renamed Naval Air Station Green
Cove Springs (Lee Field). After the war, NAS Green Cove
Springs was downgraded in status to a Naval Auxiliary Air
Station (NAAS) as part of the greater NAS Jacksonville complex.
The Navy also constructed 13 piers along the St. Johns River to
house a "Mothball Fleet" of some 600 vessels(1).

In an effort to learn more about the
mothballed ships, I interviewed folks in the Green Cove area,
both civilian and former "swabbies", placed newspaper ads
requesting information and gathered story material.
I spent many hours in the library archives, but, sadly, they
had only a few photos of the mothball fleet.

I requested the
assistance of the Clay County Historical Society in obtaining
photos and information. Within two weeks times my wife and I had not
only received a reply from the Society, but had been give the
"cook's tour" through the Clay County Historical Museum by none
other than the volunteer president himself! He saw to it
that I had numerous photos to look through and also helped me
to obtain several 8x10 copies of photos I had never before seen
of DEs and APDs at Green Cove. These photos are shown
below.

My newspaper ad brought great results. I
was contacted by a Green Cove native, Mr. James Gillies, who
took part in the mothballing of many of the ships. Below
is the letter and photos of APDs 96, 97, 105, 116 and 119 that
I received from him.

In 1962 the docking facility
for the mothball fleet was moved from its Green Cove Springs
location to Texas. It was not until 1984 that the city annexed
the former naval base into its corporate limits, tying this
part of its heritage to its future growth and development.
In January 2007 the City Counsel discussed plans to erect a
memorial marker to the former base and the project came to
fruition in late 2007.

I continue to seek information and photos about
the APDs and DEs that were berthed at Green Cove Springs, FL.
This historical event deserves to be preserved for future
generations. If you have information, please contact me.

My name is Jim Gillies and I read your article
in the newspaper. I helped bring a ship from Norfolk, Va
Feb. 1946 which was one of the first ships tied up on the other
side of old Shands Bridge. My ship was the Daniel T.
Griffin (APD 38). Then I went to other ships to put them
in mouthballs. I went from APD 38 to the APD 116.
After putting these ships out of Commission I went aboard a
personel ship, USS Marlboro (APB 38) for the rest of my time
until I got out of the Navy, Nov. 5, 1947. I married a
girl from Green Cove Springs in 1948. I have been here
since Feb. 1946. I helped put a lot of ships out of
Commission the last 2 years I was in the Navy. I was on
an aircraft carrier in WWII in the South Pacific.

You said that there was a DE tied up along side
APD-106. I don't recall a DE which is a Destroyer Escort
tied up with the APDs. But I could be wrong. My
memory is not that good now. I am 77 years old.

The APD 106 I am sure I helped put that ship
out of Commission because I put the APD 38 that I brought from
Norfolk, Va, then APD 116, the APD 105 and APD 119 and a lot of
others.

I am sending you these pictures of some of the
ships I was on here in Green Cove Springs.

This picture of the APD 105, the APD 106 might
be one of the ships near the 105. I don't know. I
am sorry I didn't get a picture of the 106. I didn't even
get a picture of the APD 38 that I brought from Norfolk, Va.